Baltimore County to preserve 38 acres in Perry Hall

Baltimore County will preserve 38 acres of publicly owned forested land in Perry Hall, which officials say is the largest preservation of open green space in that community in more than a decade.

The land will be protected from development and is at two locations: about 8 acres in western Perry Hall and nearly 30 acres north and south of Indian Rock Park. In an announcement of the land reclassification, County Councilman David Marks said he had worked with County Executive Kevin Kamenetz for the past year to preserve the land.

"Not only are we protecting green space in two distinct regions of Perry Hall, but we are preserving an area larger than the acreage at Perry Hall High School," said Marks, a Republican from Perry Hall. "It is a milestone for the Perry Hall community, and it comes at almost no cost to Baltimore County's taxpayers."

The 8-acre tract is in the 9200 block of Seven Courts Drive, north of the Seven Oaks Senior Center and southwest of Pinedale Drive. The county will reclassify it as the Seven Oaks Environmental Conservation Area, Marks said.

The other location includes 11 acres north of Indian Rock Park between Ebenezer and East Joppa Roads, and 18.5 acres south of the park along Perry Hall Boulevard. The site already includes 16.5 acres of protected land, and the collective acreage will now be known as the Indian Rock Environmental Conservation Area, Marks said.